Design bid awarded to fix up police station

The fire safety code violation issues plaguing the police station should be resolved within the next couple months now that the Board of Selectmen has accepted a bid to design the project.

The board chose the lowest bidder, Douglas Best of Westminster, who will redesign areas of the second floor. Best will be paid approximately $1,800, and facilities manager Tom Rutherford said the plans should be in the town’s hands within the next couple of weeks.

“We wound up getting quotes from three different engineers, architects,” said Rutherford. “Based on Best’s plan, we will hire a contractor to get the work done. We just want to make sure that everything there is up to code.”

A concern regarding fire code violations on the second floor of the building surfaced in January after Rutherford was called in to assess leaking ice dams. He asked building inspector Mark Brodeur for his opinion, who found a number of code violations surrounding fire safety equipment.

Selectman Russ Philpot called in a state inspector last spring for an official assessment. The inspector initially said a second egress was needed on the floor, but “changed his mind,” said Rutherford, and said it was all set.

“It has been determined, through the State Building Inspector’s office, we do not need a second egress on the second floor,” he said.

The select board discussed appealing the State Inspector’s report, which detailed several fire code violations, but decided not to, said Rutherford. “I would definitely like to get this off my plate,” he said.

The design plans will primarily focus on updating fire safety equipment such as fire detectors, making sure various doors comply with fire code, and resolving insulation issues in the second floor ceiling.

“A big chunk of it is safety code stuff,” Rutherford said. “Basically, what we are doing is what should have happened in the first place; we are just going backwards now and doing things that should have been done up front.”